Virginia Beach girl doesn't advance in spelling bee

WASHINGTON

There were no tears when Caroline Willett of Virginia Beach found out Wednesday that she wouldn't be going on to the semifinals at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The 11-year-old's experience ended on a high note.

Minutes before the semifinalists were announced, Caroline came back from an early stumble, spelling correctly a word for a portable stove.

"Oh yeah!" she said in recognition after hearing the definition of "chauffer." She had gotten it wrong while practicing with her mother Tuesday.

Only 41 spellers who did nearly perfectly on stage and on a written test are headed on to the semifinals this morning. After misspelling "halibut" on stage Wednesday morning,

Caroline needed both a perfect test score and a correct on-stage spelling. She got her word, but not the test score.

"I feel fine," Caroline said after spelling "chauffer." Most of the 293 spellers stumbled on a 50-word computerized test Tuesday. Half of the words counted toward a speller's final score, which also included points for spelling on stage twice.

"If I had missed that word, I'd be pretty sad, but I'm not. I've had a good experience," the home-schooled sixth-grader said.

Her mother greeted her off-stage with an emotional hug, and her 7-year-old sister, Eliza, snapped pictures.

Caroline wore a necklace made by Jordan Moore, a friend from Tabernacle United Methodist Church, and her fingernails were painted gold with black stripes.

Caroline represented The Virginian-Pilot after winning the local bee in February. Her older sister, Rebecca, was the local winner the previous two years and also competed at nationals. This is the third year The Pilot has sent a speller to the national bee after a hiatus of nearly three decades.

Caroline closed and opened her eyes as she pronounced the letters in "chauffer" on stage. She pumped both arms after spelling correctly.

That morning, a big flat fish had knocked Caroline for a loop. The word halibut was unfamiliar to Caroline, who spelled it "H-A-L-A-B-U-T."

She asked for the definition, origins and pronunciations of the word, as she typically does. When she asked for a sentence, the response, "Ernie saw a halibut the size of a sleeping bag," made her smile. Ernie is what she calls older sister Rebecca's boyfriend, whose middle name is Ernest.

She relaxed a bit and tried spelling the word on her arm, then spelled it aloud.

Afterward, a chipper Caroline said she'd never eaten halibut.

If Caroline can win the Pilot spelling bee again, she could get another chance. She'll be eligible for two more years.

"I'm sure I'll do better next year," she said.

Lauren Roth, 222-5133, lauren.roth@pilotonline.com